The short version
- Viewership for Hulu’s The Dropout increased by 186 percent in September following news of a new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes.
- The documentary You Can See Everything achieved the strongest opening weekend for a non-fiction film in over twenty years, earning $15 million.
- John Carreyrou’s book Bad Blood returned to the New York Times bestseller list amid the renewed public fascination with the Theranos fraud case.
Public interest in the collapse of Theranos and its former chief executive Elizabeth Holmes has intensified significantly following the release of a new documentary. The film, titled You Can See Everything, has generated substantial cultural momentum that extends beyond cinema audiences. This surge in attention has directly impacted related media properties, including a narrative television series and a non-fiction book that previously defined the public understanding of the scandal.
Data from industry trackers indicates a sharp rise in engagement with existing content about Holmes. Viewership for The Dropout, a 2022 Hulu limited series starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, jumped by 186 percent in September compared to the previous month. This increase occurred after the announcement of the first teaser for the new documentary on September 6. Momentum continued into October, with viewership nearly doubling again during the week leading up to the film’s premiere on October 16.
The renewed curiosity has also revitalized interest in print media covering the same events. Bad Blood, the 2018 investigative book by journalist John Carreyrou, reappeared on the New York Times bestseller list. The work detailed the internal operations of Theranos and the whistleblowers who exposed the company’s fraudulent blood-testing devices. Its return to the charts underscores how the new film has prompted audiences to revisit the foundational reporting that led to Holmes’s downfall.
You Can See Everything has performed exceptionally well at the box office, setting benchmarks for documentary releases. Produced by A24 and directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the three-hour film opened on 855 screens in North America. It earned approximately $15 million during its opening weekend, marking the best debut for a documentary since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. The performance also represents the strongest opening for any film playing on fewer than 1,000 screens since Borat in 2006.
The film’s commercial success was driven by strong critical reception and word-of-mouth promotion. It holds near-perfect scores on review aggregators, including a 97 on Metacritic and high ratings on Letterboxd. Critics have praised the film for its psychological complexity and unique director-subject dynamic. The buzz surrounding the movie was so intense that it reportedly displaced Street Fighter, the weekend’s top-grossing film, from the number one spot on Monday’s box office charts.
Industry observers are now looking toward awards season, with predictions that the film could become the first documentary nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards. A24 plans to submit the work for consideration in multiple categories beyond best documentary feature. These include cinematography, original score, directing, costume design, production design, and makeup and hairstyling. The studio is also campaigning for Amanda Seyfried to receive recognition for her performance in The Dropout.
The documentary was filmed largely in secret during 2023, just before Holmes began serving an 11-year prison sentence for fraud. The covert nature of the production contributed to its mystique and the spoiler-averse marketing strategy employed by distributors. With many screenings sold out during the opening weekend, the film is scheduled to expand to at least 2,600 screens in its second domestic weekend. International releases are planned for Australia in November and the United Kingdom shortly after.
The case of Elizabeth Holmes remains a focal point for public fascination with corporate fraud and media representation. Once the youngest female self-made billionaire in the United States, with a net worth estimated at $4.5 billion by age 30, Holmes left Theranos in 2018 after revelations that the company’s technology did not work as advertised. The convergence of new cinematic interest and renewed engagement with older media highlights the enduring impact of the scandal on American culture.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- The Guardian World↗You Can See Everything mania lifts viewership for The Dropout by 186%
